August 11, 2020
Bags of Opportunity
The latest issue of Fife Business Matters includes a feature on Smith Anderson, which has overcome challenges to remain open and functioning during COVID-19.
Having stepped ‘into the breach’ from day one of the coronavirus, Kirkcaldy-based Smith Anderson, a manufacturer of sustainable paper packaging, dispensing and carrier bags, overcame numerous and onerous challenges to remain open and functioning throughout COVID-19 as a key supplier to multiple pharmacy supply chains, including the NHS. That, combined with charitable support for numerous Fife foodbanks and those voluntary groups delivering much needed supplies to those unable to travel, meant there wasn’t a single day off from lockdown. Team Smith Anderson, producing 10 million paper bags every day, sprang into action to safeguard all those workers, who had not been furloughed from early April.
Chief Executive of Smith Anderson, Michael Longstaffe, commented:
“The only way we were going to be able to remain open for business, was to offer our team a working environment which was even safer than if they were at home. Our production process is naturally ‘distant’, but we needed a lot of innovative thought, screens, directional chutes, and numerous other ideas to come to fruition. A combination of all of these, viable PPE and social distancing, powered by an engaged workforce both eager to help and also mindful of the risks, resulted in a fantastic performance.”
